Esteemed San Francisco avant-garde string ensemble Kronos Quartet have been announced as headliners at South Australia’s all-new, government-approved festival Womad Earth Station. All the more exciting is the fact the quartet will perform their acclaimed Sun Rings composition.

TheMusic reports that the festival came to be after the success of Adelaide’s WOMADelaide event, and that after five years of planning, the new celebration of music is ready to go. The festival will take place at Belair National Park on Friday October 21 – 23.

That Kronos Quartet will play Sun Rings is a coup for organisers. The piece was composed by none other than Terry Riley, who used sounds supplied by NASA and various other instruments of astronomy. Kronos Quartet were last in Australia for their spectacular concert as part of the Sydney Festival.

Others taking part in Womad Earth Station are Toumani Diabate, Wu Man, Mista Savona as well as several green-minded scientists such as Steve Pekar, activists such as Steve Quantock and the co-directors of the Sydney Theatre Company, Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton.

As well as music, the festival will contain talks, lectures, organic demonstrations and food stalls and more. Tickets go on sale as of Tuesday July 5, with the full festival line-up being announced towards the end of August.